Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill (8) runs for a 53-yard touchdown on a pass from Mississippi State’s Keytaon Thompson. Mississippi State played Stephen F. Austin in the 2018 football season opener at Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville on September 1, 2018. Photo by Keith Warren/Mandatory Credit

Mississippi State throttled Stephen F. Austin, 63-6, in head coach Joe Moorhead’s debut. The Bulldogs didn’t wait long to start raining down on the Lumberjacks.

After a stifling showing by MSU’s defense forced a three-and-out, State’s offense needed just one play to get on the board. Sophomore quarterback Keytaon Thompson flipped a short pass to sophomore running back Kylin Hill, and Hill did the rest.

He took it 53 yards to the house.

A literal storm descended on the stadium minutes later — a sign of things to come. As the rain got heavier, students in the north end zone grew louder. The players on the Bulldogs’ bench jumped higher. Excitement swelled with seemingly every drop.

Everything Mississippi State fans were excited about entering Moorhead’s inaugural season was on display against the outmatched Lumberjacks. A dominant defensive line, a potent aerial attack and unique play-calling on both sides of the ball — the Bulldogs exhibited it all.

In the first half, Moorhead’s vaunted offense stole the show. The Bulldogs scored on the first play of a drive twice in the first quarter — once on the Hill catch-and-run and once more on an 84-yard lightning strike to sophomore receiver Osirus Mitchell, who didn’t have an SFA defender within earshot when he made the catch. His touchdown put Mississippi State on top 21-0 with 3:44 left in the first quarter.

When Moorhead and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said the offense wouldn’t be scaled back due to senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald’s suspension, they weren’t kidding. In just the second start of his career, Thompson electrified the crowd with his arm and his feet throughout the first half.

Thompson had 263 yards passing and four touchdowns through the air in the game’s first 30 minutes. He added 75 yards on the ground and another touchdown. He accounted for all five of MSU’s first-half scores.

He wasn’t as sharp when he trotted onto the field for the second half. The Bulldogs went three-and-out three-straight times to start the half, and Thompson misfired on eight straight passes in the quarter.

He didn’t miss on his ninth.

He found Mitchell for a 30-yard scoring strike that ignited another prolific string of scoring for the Bulldogs. Hill added another touchdown in the quarter, and Thompson scampered to the end zone once again on the first play of the fourth quarter to give State a 50-point advantage, 56-6.

That concluded Thompson’s night, and what a night it was. He tied an SEC record for most touchdowns responsible for in a game (seven). Five came through the air and two from his feet. Two of the other 13 players to share that achievement are also Mississippi State quarterbacks — Dak Prescott and this year’s senior captain, Nick Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald makes his return to State’s starting lineup next week when the Bulldogs travel to take on Kansas State. The Wildcats survived a scare from FCS South Dakota in a 27-24 victory at home. Mississippi State will present Bill Synder with a much more serious threat when the Bulldogs invade Manhattan.

Mississippi State’s Keytaon Thompson throws a pass in the first quarter. Mississippi State played Stephen F. Austin in the 2018 football season opener at Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville on September 1, 2018. Photo by Keith Warren/Mandatory Credit

Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill (8) runs for a 53-yard touchdown on a pass from Mississippi State’s Keytaon Thompson. Mississippi State played Stephen F. Austin in the 2018 football season opener at Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville on September 1, 2018. Photo by Keith Warren/Mandatory Credit